Knox County junior Royce Poore's return to the gridiron has provides the Eagles with a spark

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By Bud Schrader/Sports Reporter

Kirksville Daily Express - Kirksville, MO

By Bud Schrader/Sports Reporter

Posted Oct. 11, 2012 at 12:57 AM
Updated Oct 11, 2012 at 1:04 AM

By Bud Schrader/Sports Reporter

Posted Oct. 11, 2012 at 12:57 AM
Updated Oct 11, 2012 at 1:04 AM

EDINA, Mo. - Knox County junior Royce Poore wreaked havoc in the Tri-Rivers Conference last season as an All-Conference and All-District basketball player. He is attempting to do the same this season as a wide receiver/defensive back for the Eagle football team.
Poore has become a key player for Knox County (5-2, 2-1 Tri-Rivers Conference) as the Eagles jockey for a favorable seeding in districts. The Eagles are currently third in the Class 1, District 5 standings.
Poore hadn’t played football since seventh grade and was talked into playing by the Knox coaches over the summer.
“They said I would be an asset to the team,” he said. “It’s gone better than I thought. I was really nervous at the beginning.”
Knox junior quarterback Donovan Edwards said he also talked to Poore in the off-season about playing football.
“I heard [Poore] was thinking about going out and I talked to him about it”, he said, “and he did.”
Poore caught six passes for 82 yards and a touchdown on offense and has recorded three interceptions as a defensive back. Edwards said Poore has been a weapon on offense.
“All I have to do is throw it up there,” he said. “I know Royce will come down with it. There aren’t too many corners in the conference who is as big as he is or can jump like he can.”
Poore said playing basketball has helped him with football.
“Catching the football is my main asset to the team,” he said. “I’m able to get up in the air and come down with the football a lot of the time.”
Poore said the biggest adjustment to playing football is the physical nature of the sport.
“It’s more hard core than basketball or baseball,” he said. “There is a lot of hard work, which will be beneficial for me in preparing for the other sports. There is a lot of mental preparation involved.”
Knox County football coach Alex VanDelft said that Poore has adjusted well.
“There is a different perspective to playing football than in basketball,” he said. “There is contact in basketball, but you have to look for it. In football, you have to like contact.”
Poore admitted that playing defense has taken a little getting used to.
“You have to learn angles, how to play receivers who are as fast or as big as you,” he said.
Edwards is glad to have Poore on the team.
“We were mainly a running team last season,” he said. “But with Royce and Lee [Tague], we are able to pass and be successful.”
VanDelft said Poore adds another dimension offensively.
“[Poore] stretches the defense,” he said. “Teams always put 8-9 defenders in the box. The defense stretches the field and I think we can score a lot with the players we have.”